Helping Him
by odalys-ortiz
Summary: When John encountered Snow back in Number Crunch, it was a very terrifying moment not only for him but for Joss would had been an unwilling assistant in the ambush. I wanted to do something that would put her in a good light before the events of Legacy. Takes place at the end of Number Crunch. Slightly AU #CareeseIsEternal


Disclaimer: Entertainment purposes only.

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><p>Helping Him<p>

The sound of the silenced shot would have been lost on untrained ears. As Joss slowly began to register what had just occurred, The Man in the Suit suddenly grunted and fell to the ground. As he did, shots were fired towards the SUV where Joss was standing with Mark Snow. Joss ducked behind the door, assuming that the man was aiming at the two of them. Not that she blamed him.

But she realized he was not aiming at them. Instead, he was aiming at the headlights, hoping to escape in the cover of the darkness. He managed to accomplish his objective; but not before another bullet slammed into his body. Joss saw the blood on his crisp white shirt before everything went dark. She heard Snow next to her yelling for his partner. While he was distracted, Joss made out a figure disappearing into what appeared to be the garage stairwell.

She made sure Snow wasn't watching before following The Man in a Suit.

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><p>His breathing was erratic but he knew he had to keep moving. When he had first seen Snow, he knew what his former boss was there to do. Seeing Carter with Snow didn't surprise him. He understood that she only wanted to do the right thing and more than likely Snow fed her a bunch of lies to make her question his motives. It really wasn't her fault that he took two high powered sniper bullets to the body. Carter likely didn't even know what was going to happen.<p>

Even as he struggled to take each steps, his thoughts turned to her safety. Now that Snow exposed his true motives, he would want to silence any witnesses. However, the loss of blood was making it difficult to concentrate. John weakly reached up to his earwig and patched a call. "Hey Harold?"

"John, I've been trying to call you. Where are you?" The voice of his employer was urgent, panicked.

John managed another flight of stairs. "A parking structure. It doesn't look good."

"Carter sold you out. They got to her." Finch must have thought that she had malicious intentions towards him after all.

If he had seen what happened, Finch may have said different. "Yeah, they're clever like that." John's body was aching, demanding that he rest. He knew, however, that the loss of blood was bad and he couldn't stop moving or he risked death. "I wanted to say thank you Harold, for giving me a second chance." John could feel the darkness closing in.

"John, I'm sorry. It appears that traffic has become quite terrible. I don't know if I will make it to you in time." Finch wished that he had another way. After the cameras had exposed Carter's conversation with Snow, he rushed over to the address she gave him. However, a accident had blocked traffic and there was no room to u-turn.

With all the pain, John managed a small smile. "At least you tried. I guess this is goodbye." He disconnected the call before Finch could protest. John knew the truth, that this was his penance for all the bad he had done. John was happy that at least he would die trying to do some good with his new life. It would take Finch time to reach him, time which John did not have.

"Ugh" he fell back into the middle of the stairs. John knew that he was only two floors from the exit. If he could somehow manage to get out, he knew that there was a safehouse only a block from here.

The sound of footsteps caught his attention. Thinking that it was Snow, John used the hand that wasn't pressed up against the wounds to push himself up, willing the adrenaline to keep him going. If he was going to bleed to death, he was not going to give Snow the satisfaction of seeing it first hand.

The blood seeped through his fingers as John took the few remaining steps before finally making it to the ground floor. Just as his hand reached for the door, a voice was heard behind him.

"Stop!" John recognized the feminine voice was but refused to turn around. He could hear Carter's shoes echoing loudly off the last few steps as she rushed towards him.

John had to admit that he wasn't surprised that she started to drag his good arm across her shoulders when she reached him; Carter was always the caring type. John understood she must have felt terrible for setting him up but they would deal with that later. "I have to get you out of here. Snow and Evans jumped in the SUV after you took off and are heading down." They finally looked at each other. John must have looked terrible because Carter's eyes went wide with shock. "We have to get out of here and get you patched up."

John grunted as he could feel the bullets digging further into him. "There's…there's a safehouse about a block from here." He found it amusing that Carter was able to hold him up as they slowly but surely walked through the door into the cold night air. "There are supplies so that I can get patched up."

Without hesitation, Carter said "Alright, let's go." Then pushed on towards the safehouse.

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><p>It all felt too surreal. John was going to have to speak with Finch about having the safehouses equipped with elevators. It was hell on him to take each step up and surely it must have been worse for Carter who supported almost all his weight on during the dash. His white shirt was crimson and John felt a bit dizzy from the blood loss.<p>

"Hey, hey. Hang on, we're almost there. I can patch you up. Just stay focused okay." Joss was determined to get him to safety. She had been the one responsible for this man, John, being hurt. Her arm around his waist squeezed a bit to encourage him.

After a bit more struggling, the two finally reached the only door on the floor that appeared to be locked by a keypad. Before she could even ask, John weakly lifted a hand to type in the code. When the light went from red to green, Joss pulled John up and they went inside. The first thing she looked for was a couch which she spotted a few feet away. Their shuffling feet managed the rest of the way and Joss laid John on the couch, hearing him hiss in pain from his injuries. She was just glad he was still conscious but for how much longer she wasn't so sure.

Joss straightened herself up before taking her jacket off and tossing it aside. "So is there something in here that I can use?" She noticed his eyes had closed. "John!" Getting his attention, Joss continued, "What can I use here to take out the bullets and stitch you up? Once I do that, I'll let you rest. The bathroom?" She questioned as she pointed down the only hallway.

John managed to nod yes to her, and Joss rushed off to the bathroom. John warily watched her. It was just like Carter to go into soldier mode. He learned to do the same thing in the military under stressful situations. John wasn't angry with what she did; he knew that Snow said the right things in order for her give him up. Now Carter was trying to make amends even though she didn't have to do all of this.

John shifted on the cushion, groaning again as he could feel the bullets moving around again. He knew what she would have to do to patch him up. John couldn't say that he was happy with the idea that Carter would have to pull the bullets out. Finch probably would have taken him to some underground doctor since he loathed the sight of blood.

A shuffling sound caught John's attention. He was amazed at the sight before him. Carter was exiting the bathroom with a box in her hands. While in there, she decided to get a bit more comfortable. Her hair was now up in a loose bun held up by something that he couldn't see. The shirt that she had been wearing was unbuttoned a bit at the top and the sleeves were rolled up to her elbows. "I swear you have everything here that you would find back in the military. Who helps you because I know damn well you couldn't have done all of this yourself?" She asked while moving the end table that would hold the supplies while she worked on him.

Even with all the pain he was in, John couldn't help but smirk down at her. "Now, now Detective. I can't tell you all my secrets."

An incredulous look came before her eyes when she looked at him. "You were shot twice by a sniper and yet you are sitting here making jokes?" He didn't say anything else which had her rolling her eyes. "Whatever, I need to get you out of these clothes so that I can reach the wounds. Can you take off your shirt and pants?"

John didn't hesitate, the opportunity all too easy. "We haven't even gone on a date yet and you already want to see me naked? I'm flattered."

"You don't quit, do you?" Joss appeared annoyed but she was actually fighting back a smile. "Look, the sooner I patch you up, the sooner we can talk about what happened okay?" When John didn't respond, she knew that they had an understanding. His jacket was eased off of him and hung on the back of a nearby chair. The task of removing the now ruined shirt proved to be the easiest of the two other articles of clothing. Since it was buttoned down, John didn't have to move too much. His pants were a bit more problematic. Knowing that moving was so painful for John, Joss grabbed some scissors and cut them away from his body, much to his relief.

"So which bullet do you want to do first?" John loathed either one to be honest. He just wanted to get this done as quickly as possible.

Carter looked into the box, taking out some alcohol, forceps, and a rag. "I'll do the one in your leg first, then your stomach. After that, I'll stitch you up and you'll be as good as new…sort of." After cleaning the tool, Joss lifted the bottom of his boxers to expose the hole. Thankfully the bleeding had stopped. For the first time during her preparation, she felt herself getting a bit nervous. She only remembered a handful of times she ever did something like before. Joss wasn't a certified medic, but she knew enough. It didn't mean that she enjoyed doing this however. It was especially sickening because this had been her fault.

Noting the hesitation, John gritted his teeth in preparation. "Just get it over with. The faster the better."

At his request, Joss dipped the instrument right into his leg. She was surprised at how quiet he was. "Why didn't you say anything?" She wanted to get his mind off of the pain he was in but trying to hide.

"Would you have stopped chasing me if I _hiss _did?"

"No, but it would have been nice to know more about the man that saved my life instead of hearing what I thought was the truth from his former boss that really wanted him dead." Joss then felt something hard at the end of her forceps. Getting a nice grip, she quickly pulled back, holding the first bullet triumphantly as she heard another loud hiss. "Gotcha. One down, one to go." She put the bullet in a small tray on the table beside her. Going back to the task, Joss lifted his undershirt high enough to expose the second hole. Her eye did catch another scar near it. Looked like it had been caused by a knife and was really old too. She wondered briefly how many more he had.

John could feel her fingers briefly graze the wound from a fierce interrogation back in his days with the CIA. Kara never cared enough to even ask if he was alright and he couldn't let himself show weakness in front of her. With Carter, the way she looked at him, he knew that it was different. He could see the curiosity and the worry in her eyes. John felt the urge to ease those worries. "It wasn't like I could exactly tell you stories when I was with these guys." He moved again to get comfortable. He sucked in a breath as he felt the cold steel reach into him again.

"I know that. I get that there aren't things that you aren't exactly proud of but obviously you did something to piss them off too. Everyone has their reasons but…" Joss felt the second bullet quicker than the first. "That doesn't mean that you deserve to be hunted down like a dog." The wound began to start bleeding again and Joss was quick to press a towel to it while cursing her carelessness. The guy was probably low enough as is and here she was trying to talk to him, forgetting about what the hell she should be doing. First patch him up, then talk.

It didn't help matters that the second bullet caused a bit more trouble than the first. Joss really didn't want to put John through anymore pain, especially when she still had to stitch him up. "Hey, I-I may have two bullet holes in me but that doesn't mean I'm frail or anything." John picked up on what she was thinking and hoped to reassure her that he was okay. Granted he felt like crap and was tired as hell, but he was alive. John wondered how Finch would take the news that the same woman that set him up also helped him out.

"Oh, don't worry. I know you aren't frail. Just try to stay calm okay? It feels like this bullet managed to go sideways while it was lodged in you. I've got it though." Joss took her time to slowly straighten the bullet and then ease it out. She noticed that John's knuckles were getting whiter as he gripped the cushion. He wasn't being vocal but that didn't mean he wasn't hurting. Joss saw the beads of sweat forming on his head too. Before long, the piece of metal was out of his body and both of them sighed with relief. Joss was halfway done with her task.

The bullet joined its brother on the pan. Joss cleaned her hands on a spare rag before taking a clean one and heading into the kitchen. John lazily watched as she went over to the sink and soaked the rag thoroughly. Joss walked back over, standing next to him as she dabbed the cool water on him. "How are you holding up?" She asked.

John couldn't help but close his eyes under the cooling effects and her soft touch. "It's nice to not have bullets in me anymore. Now that leaves the stitching." When he reopened his eyes, John could see the look in her eyes, the regret over the whole situation still there. "You know, you've done enough already Carter. You can head on home. I can manage this somehow."

Joss shook her head. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily. Don't worry, I did this not too long ago when my kid had a really bad fall. I'm sure that you are the type that wants to avoid hospitals as much as possible, right?" She got her answer when he didn't respond. "Thought so." Their eyes met and Joss found herself surprised when she felt her heart skip a beat. She wasn't one to fall like a love sick puppy over just looks but John's blue eyes entranced her, just like when they first met. He had looked pretty bad back then and wasn't talkative, but his eyes spoke volumes. Joss pulled herself away, needing to have that small bit of distance to get her thoughts together.

Returning to him, Joss sat on her knees as she went looking in the box of medical supplies. She took a small needle and some nylon thread. Joss set the thread into the needle with precision and tied it tight. The sigh she let out let John know that this wasn't going to be pleasant for either of them. She was right though; he couldn't stand hospitals at all. They reminded him too much of Jessica.

Joss shifted her position so that she was hovering over the injured thigh. Putting a hand on top of his, she eased it away to expose the wound. The faster she did this, the faster it would get done. "So why did you do it?" Joss asked out of the blue.

John's attention was once again on her. "Do what?" He suddenly let out a loud curse as Joss buried the needle into his skin and started the stitching.

"Your prints." She explained. "Why did you leave your prints for me to run? You didn't do it until after I showed up. Why?"

"I slipped up," he said through gritted teeth. John in no way thought he could fool her. He just needed the distraction of the conversation to avoid the sickening pain that was going through his body at the moment.

Even though her eyes were focused on the stitching, He could see the look of annoyance on her face. "Bullshit. I saw your background, remember? You were the top guy in the CIA. That means you don't make mistakes unless you wanted to." Joss was thankful for the conversation. It kept her mind focused and it also kept John awake. The stitching was going by smoothly which she was happy for. Joss managed to close the first wound quickly. Once she had gotten to the end of the stitch, she cut the thread and secured it with a knot. "So you didn't answer my question," Joss pointed out as she began work on the stomach.

John was happy that it was almost over and also a bit saddened as well. He enjoyed learning even more about the beautiful detective with whom he shared a cat and mouse game with. Even though he had two holes in him, John enjoyed having a one on one with her with no other prying eyes around. "Well, I guess I was bored." He could feel her starting the stitching again.

"And how would I have satisfied your boredom then?" The needle continued to go through the skin smoothly as the string slowly but surely closed the second wound.

Joss couldn't see the smirk he gave her due to the fact she was concentrating on her task. "That's a secret." In reality, John couldn't tell her the truth, how he found her intriguing and wanted nothing more than to learn all about her. The chase was supposed to provide a last bit of fun for him before he finally took his own life. John had never planned on getting a nontraditional job with Harold. He was thankful for it because it gave him a reason to watch Carter, knowing that she would be investigating his criminal activities.

The small chuckle that he heard was something unexpected, but John didn't mind hearing it and wanted to hear it more often. Carter was always about the job so he had never seen her sense of humor. "You aren't exactly like most criminals I meet, you know that?"

"Well you aren't like most cops I meet." John was feeling the pangs of sleep again but he did his best to push them away. The pain from the stitching was reduced to a dull pinching and he saw that Carter was close to finishing.

"Well, it's not like I exactly had a choice to do this, ya know." Finally the last bit of skin was brought together and Joss finished up just as she did the first time. She let out a huge sigh of relief as she put everything in the box. "There, finally all patched up." She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. John made an attempt to move a bit but groaned and stopped himself. "Hey, take it easy" she chided softly. "Don't want you pulling those stitches already. Did you need something?"

John shook his head. "I just wanted to get more comfortable. Thanks for the patch up work."

Joss cleaned up everything and put the box back where she found it. There was no way John could get dressed in his current state. The stitches wouldn't hold since they weren't done professionally. When Joss came back into the living area, she saw that John was still awake much to her surprise; she noticed him fighting sleep while she was fixing him up. Joss straightened up her clothes and let her hair loosely fall across her shoulders. "It's the least I could do after what I did" she said. John could clearly hear the sadness in her voice.

He tried to change the direction of the conversation. "You should probably head home. I'm sure your kid is wondering where you are right now.

To his surprise, Joss shook her head. "After my first run in with Snow, I decided to have Taylor go over to his grandmother's house for the weekend just to be on the safe side. After what I saw tonight, I'm glad I did." She had hesitated a moment before continuing, "If you don't mind, I want to stay at least until I'm sure you are well enough." Joss couldn't trust herself to walk away yet. She knew if she did, he would disappear and Joss didn't know when she would see John again, if ever.

The smirk on John's face had her rolling her eyes, knowing that he was going to have a smartass remark for her. "I didn't know that you really cared Detective." His mood was lighthearted, secretly happy for everything going on right now. "There is plenty of food in the kitchen so you can help yourself to any of it. Think of it as a small payment for your help."

"Oh goodie" Joss said as she trotted off to the side kitchen. When she opened the fridge, she realized he wasn't kidding. It was stuffed with anything you could ask for. Before Joss could be overwhelmed, she immediately went for some ham and cheese. It was different than what she was accustomed too. The ingredients looked more expensive and she debated on whether or not it was really okay for John to offer this to her.

He must have sensed her hesitation. "Don't worry about eating anything. My partner has more than enough money to buy whatever he wants." John knew where the conversation was heading and he didn't mind. He would keep Finch's name out until he could convince him that Carter was on their side.

"Speaking of which…" Joss continued around, getting some bread and continued working on her food. "Who is your partner? He clearly does have enough resources for all that food in there. Some stuff I've never even seen before." She then paused for a second. "I don't even know why I'm asking. I know that you aren't going to tell me." Her back was now to him. Joss decided to make some sandwiches for John too, understanding that he might be more than hungry enough after what happened. She didn't hear anything from him. When Joss turned around to see if he was asleep, she nearly got a heart attack at finding him suddenly standing mere inches from her. "Jesus" she gasped as she grabbed her chest. "You gotta give a girl a warning next time you do that."

"That would take the fun out it." John said jokingly. Joss let out an exasperated sigh in response.

"Even if it is fun, you're hurt remember? You really shouldn't be walking around" she chastised. Joss turned back around, wanting to avoid looking at him in nothing but his undershirt and boxers.

"Two bullet holes can't keep me from messing with you," he countered.

Joss knew that he hadn't moved from his position right behind her. "That does seem like a hobby of yours to just go ahead and stalk me without being afraid of the repercussions." Getting annoyed with his close proximity, Joss finally decided to do something about it. Turning around, she turned John around and gently pushed him back to the living room. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to be able to make some food without another near heart attack." Joss had to say she was surprised that he was letting her have control without any argument. She had suspected that he was like her, too stubborn to relinquish it.

John eased himself back on the couch before Joss continued what she was doing without further incident.

Thanks to him behaving, shortly afterwards she returned to the living room with a plate and drink, handing it to him. "I figured you'd want something," she explained when Joss saw the surprised look on his face. Joss picked up her own meal and sat on the end of the couch, making sure to leave an appropriate bit of room between them.

They ate in a comfortable silence. After Joss finished and put her things on the table, she turned to John. "How the hell are you so forgiving?" She blurted out. Always the one wanting answers.

John knew that it was only a matter of time before she broached the elephant in the room. Leaving the sandwich half finished on the table, he proceeded to explain. "Well for one thing, it wasn't your fault because you thought you were doing the right thing."

Joss's head shook no. "But I'm the one that told Snow exactly where to find you. It's all on me that this happened to you. I do my best to protect the public yet I almost cost a man his life. Even if you did do some bad things in the past, it doesn't mean that you deserved that. I'm sure you had your reasons."

"I did."

"So why haven't you tried to get payback yet? I'm sure you could easily kill me, even with those holes in you." John was surprised that this petite woman got straight to the point. Joss was deceptively tough inside and out. She had guts and a good heart to boot.

"Snow will get his in due time. I won't kill him, but I will be sure that it will be just as painful as when those shots lodged into my body" John said with malice in his voice. It was short lived as Joss watched him relax again. "That's for him though. Detective, you have a sense of right and wrong and Snow used that to his advantage."

Joss threw herself against the armrest. "Yeah and now I have to live with the results."

"At least I'm not dead, thanks to you" John added, trying his best to ease the burden Carter was giving herself.

"It's a start." Joss finally allowed her body to relax as she used her outstretched arm to lay her head on, suddenly finding herself so drained once the last bit of adrenaline left her body. Looking at a nearby clock, she was surprised to find that it was almost one in the morning. Busy with patching John up, she had lost track of anything but helping him. Her eyelids went heavy and started to droop.

The rest was a blur where she couldn't remember when she finally allowed herself to sleep. Joss was surprised at how relaxed she was around John even though the regret over what she had done continued to linger. She felt something different in the air. It wasn't until she opened her eyes that she got her answer.

Sitting up from her position, Joss rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She felt a comforter rolling off of her chest as her eyes took in the scene. She had let her guard down around John. Searching the safehouse, she was a bit disappointed to realize that he was gone. It was surprising that before he left, John made sure that she was comfortable.

Joss stretched as the morning sunshine began to stream through the window. Her attention was drawn to the lone piece of paper laying on the kitchen table. Reaching over and picking up the paper, she read the one line in disbelief.

_Lyrics Diner Eleven o'clock._

Gazing up at the clock, it was just past seven. Joss had just enough time to head home and change. She would have to be careful. Snow had to have figured out she helped John escape and would be watching her every move.

Good thing she was good at losing her tail.

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><p>AN: It's been a long and bitter journey but the anniversary of Joss's death is right around the corner. To believe that even now that she had such an impact on us so much that we still acknowledge her shows how great of a character she was. Just like a clever picture someone posted in the FB group, you know a character is awesome when you can still talk about them 12 months after they died. Thanks SWWoman for the beta as usual, you are awesome=^_^=


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